Some says the firmware was solved months ago.Does anyone know if it is one two or five months ago?And has the latest firmware something to to with the transport noise.Some says their players is fine and some dont.I think mcintosh have a problem if some cdp are fine and some have problems.
noisy mcd201
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jayvis
Addicted Member
The real life problems with the MCD201 were limited to cd read problems that caused the players to freeze up or skip on certain CDs. These problems are fixed by the firmware upgrade. The transport "whirling" noise problem is completely subjective. I first judged my player as being noisy because it was the most expensive CD player I have ever owned and really expected something closer to perfection. The sound softened some after upgrading the firmware and I've become immune to it over time. The firmware upgrade, by the way, is a simple process you can do yourself with a cd provided by a McIntosh dealer. The MCD201 is not refined like a Lexus in it's mechanical execution but the output to your ears is wonderfull.
jim777
Just another McGeek
A CD is constant linear velocity (CLV) so yes, since it starts from the center, it will be spinning at it's fastest there. Being a 4x speed transport doesn't help either (when compared to CD-only transports). I don't know about SACD but to acheive the biggest density I guess that it's the same thing.MCBrennan said:
Yes, I bought the MCD201 to drive the 501's directly until I figured out what preamp I would use. Ultimately, the MDA took over the DAC and preamp duties. Now the MCD took over the transport duties and the 201 is driving a 275 directly in a separate system all together. Very well I might add.:yes:
When I auditioned the MCD201 at my dealers I could easily hear the transport from my listening position about seven feet away during quiet passages and I could hear it over the music at low volume. Other units may not be as loud as this one hopefully. It was loudest on CD-R's (made a ticking and spinning sound). On commercial CD's and SACD's the sound was more of a spinning or wooshing sound, SACD being louder than CD due to faster speed. I don't believe that the firmware update affected the transport noise, just the tracking problem.
-Bill
-Bill
i have used the mcd201 paired with the mc402 for some months and really liked the sound in my system.a week ago i bought a c46 preamp and i must say i was suprised what the preamp did with my system.Must say it took the system to another levelMCBrennan said:
. more bass,more resolution more of everything.my cremona speakers sings like they never did before.
The drive will spin faster at the beginning of a CD, since it's tracked from the center, outward, and will spin more slowly as it progresses over this radius.
Equipment reviews in the old days of "Audio" and "High Fidelity" magazines frequently mentioned the practical aspects of reviewed equipment - like for instance, motor/running noise from tape decks or turntables, lamination vibration or hum from power transformers, and even the "feel" of switches & controls.
It's rare to find this sort of info, anymore, with most reviews now focusing on nebulous, subjective descriptions and technical measurements that offer little in the way of explaining how a new piece of equipment will behave in your home, in a real-world circumstance.
Some of us actually locate our audio equipment close-by our listening position, and mechanical noise or vibration can be an important practical consideration when purchasing a new component.
It's disappointing to learn of this drive noise - this is not something that's unpreventable, or beyond a reasonable engineering & manufacturing consideration. McIntosh should be *the* leader in this sort of refinement, and not find itself in a defensive or rationalizing position of explaining why their CD players aren't dead-quiet.
Equipment reviews in the old days of "Audio" and "High Fidelity" magazines frequently mentioned the practical aspects of reviewed equipment - like for instance, motor/running noise from tape decks or turntables, lamination vibration or hum from power transformers, and even the "feel" of switches & controls.
It's rare to find this sort of info, anymore, with most reviews now focusing on nebulous, subjective descriptions and technical measurements that offer little in the way of explaining how a new piece of equipment will behave in your home, in a real-world circumstance.
Some of us actually locate our audio equipment close-by our listening position, and mechanical noise or vibration can be an important practical consideration when purchasing a new component.
It's disappointing to learn of this drive noise - this is not something that's unpreventable, or beyond a reasonable engineering & manufacturing consideration. McIntosh should be *the* leader in this sort of refinement, and not find itself in a defensive or rationalizing position of explaining why their CD players aren't dead-quiet.
Macs! said:
The way that I look at this, if I an buying a 201 I am buying a fairly expensive player and I expect no compromises, I do not know how much this machine cost, is it roughly $3.5K? for me that is expensive, but I would gladly pay $4.5K for it if all these issues are taken care of in a brand new redesigned player, temporary and after the fact fixes are not acceptable long term solutions.
My main interest is in classical, and some of the new SACD's with their huge dynamic range require a super quiet player to deal with extremely quiet passages, if the player itself is going to sound louder than the quietest musical passages then McIntosh has essentially marketing this player for use on highly compressed rock & pop music.